Company to end free maintenance program for 2026 model year vehicles
Hyundai CEO José Muñoz said this week that the company will not raise its prices to offset tariff costs. On the other hand, Hyundai is reportedly ending its free maintenance program for 2026 model year vehicles and newer.
In a statement sent to dealerships and obtained by Cars Direct, Hyundai said: “Program costs have grown to unsustainable levels.” Instead, the brand is encouraging dealers to offer prepaid maintenance plans, allowing them to “shift focus to a different revenue stream.”
The company previously offered a basic maintenance plan for new vehicles for up to three years or 36,000 miles, which the bulletin says Hyundai will continue to honor, according to the report. The program covered 2020–2025 models.
Although customers may not welcome the loss of the program, Hyundai’s commitment to not raising prices may still be appealing. Muñoz told Autocar during the Seoul Mobility Show that the U.S. is a “very important market” for Hyundai and one where it needs to “offer a competitive product.”
At the end of last month, Muñoz said he believes the company’s “localization strategy will help mitigate the impact of any potential policy changes.”
The auto giant also recently announced it will invest $21 billion by 2028, including $9 billion to boost its U.S. production capacity to 1.2 million vehicles per year. Hyundai operates a plant in Alabama, where it already builds the Hyundai Tucson, Santa Fe, Santa Cruz, Genesis GV70, among others.
Source and images: Motor1 / Hyundai. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
